Getting down low and dirty with close-up photography

When it comes to getting those marvelously miniature nature details outdoors it often means getting down into the dirt. However, as you get older it's not as easy to get down low and even tougher to get back up. If you are looking to get that wonderful worm's-eye view, it means getting down on you belly. Or does it?

We recently did a close-up and macro meet up at the beautiful Southford Falls State Park. The objective of the meet up was to find a location and scout out a variety of subjects to shoot up close and personal. Not only was it an exercise in shooting small, it was also to train in how to view a scene from a different perspective. One very low perspective.

By looking into the macro world, it also forces you to look for subjects that would otherwise get lost or overlooked by the larger world around you. We are so used to looking at trees, buildings, people and other larger scaled subjects on a daily basis that we forget to look down. And down is where you need to be.
In the previous post I discussed the difference between close-up and macro photography therefore I won't be getting into the differences between the two. In either case, the trick is to get the subject to fill the frame as much as possible. With most cameras, this means getting the lens as close as possible to the subject.  Unfortunately this also means getting a very low angle to the subject.

Without the low angle you will be left with an unflattering top view reminiscent of the typical shot everyone else takes.

... more to come!